Middle East News: World Press Roundup

NEWS: Israeli and Palestinian negotiators meet to explore the possibility of resuming talks. Israel's military says it fears that Syrian chemical weapons might be targeted at Israel. Israeli officials will soon decide whether to recognize the "Ariel University Center of Samaria," a school set up by settlers in the occupied Palestinian territories, as an official Israeli “university.” Suspected pro-settlement extremists vandalize Palestinian-owned cars in occupied East Jerusalem. Israelis, including Pres. Peres, are pushing for the release of convicted spy Pollard. A senior Palestinian official says Palestinian-Israeli security coordination has been declining over the past two years. Hamas leaders say Israel could be isolated by the results of the upcoming Egyptian presidential election. The head of the Palestine Monetary Authority says the PA has reached its maximum level of borrowing from Palestinian banks. Israeli experts warn that settlement expansion could lead to a third intifada. Pres. Abbas says he "would accept” nonmember state status at the UN. Bedouins in Israel are struggling against government plans to relocate tens of thousands of them. Rear Adm. Paul Bushong is will serve as the new U. security coordinator for Israel-Palestinian Authority. COMMENTARY: Oudeh Basharat says military defeat in 1967 was an important wake-up call to the Arab world, but Hanan Ashrawi says it was a disaster for Israelis and Arabs alike. Hannan Hever says Israel needs to recognize it bears a heavy responsibility for the Palestinian Nakba. Dor Glick says the world should help Israel by boycotting settlement products. Yaron Friedman says Jewish Israelis should study Arabic. Donald McIntyre looks at conditions in Gaza, five years after Hamas took over. The National says Palestinian resistance to occupation must be characterized by nonviolence. Uri Avnery remembers Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982 as a “war of lies.” Hussein Ibish says it's incorrect to think Abbas is politically weak and incapable of acting. Amal Daraghmeh Masri says the Palestinian economy is ready for independence. Elliott Abrams says few Middle East actors really want Israeli-Palestinian peace. Dan Ephron says PM Netanyahu now has to political clout to take on the settler movement, but he won't.

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Israeli, Palestinian negotiators quietly meet ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Mohammed Daraghmeh - June 10, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have been meeting quietly in recent weeks in hopes of ending a three-year standstill in peace efforts, both sides confirmed Sunday. Officials acknowledged the agenda of the recent talks has been modest, and stressed there is no breakthrough in sight. Nonetheless, the revelations gave a small sign of hope that a formula can be found to restart formal negotiations addressing core issues. » Read more

Military: Syria chemical stocks threaten Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press June 11, 2012 - 12:00am Israel's deputy military chief has warned that Syria's large chemical weapons stocks could be trained on Israel. According to Maj. Gen. Yair Naveh, Syria has the largest arsenal of chemical weapons in the world. If the Syrians had the chance, he said, they would "treat us the same way they treat their own people." Syria has not declared its chemical weapons stocks so their exact size is not known. Among other things, Israel is worried that such weapons could fall into the hands of anti-Israel militants should the Syrian regime crumble. » Read more

Israel to decide on settlement university ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman by Diaa Hadid - June 9, 2012 - 12:00am In the fraught atmosphere of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, an approaching decision on whether to award coveted university status to a college has taken on powerful political overtones. For critics of Israel's policy of settling Jews in the West Bank, the upgrade of the "Ariel University Center of Samaria" into a permanent university would be a strong signal of what they say is creeping annexation of the hilly territory. » Read more

Pro-settler vandals suspected in anti-Arab assaults ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters June 11, 2012 - 12:00am Suspected Israeli pro-settler activists vandalised Palestinian cars in Jerusalem on Monday, their second attack in a week in apparent retribution for plans to move 30 settler families from illegally built homes. Israeli police are concerned there could be further attacks before a July 1 deadline to move the families. » Read more

Israelis unite in call to release jailed spy Pollard ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua June 10, 2012 - 12:00am In the largest public campaign to date, tens of thousands of Israelis have signed a petition calling on President Shimon Peres to leverage his diplomatic stature in order to secure the freedom of Jonathan Pollard, a former intelligence analyst jailed in a U.S. prison for the past 27 years on charges of spying for Israel. Peres on Saturday night departed on a six-day trip to the United States, where U.S. President Barack Obama will award him later in the week the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- the most prestigious civilian honor bestowed by the U.S. administration. » Read more

Interview: Israeli-Palestinian security coordination in low levels: official ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua June 10, 2012 - 12:00am A senior Palestinian security official on Sunday told Xinhua in an interview that the security coordination between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in the West Bank has been declining over the past two years. Adnan Damiri, spokesman of the PNA security apparatuses, told Xinhua at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah that Israel has been attempting to undermine the security coordination in the West Bank with the PNA, adding that "the stalled peace talks are the main reason behind this decline." » Read more

Senior Hamas leader says Israel could be isolated by Egypt vote ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Los Angeles Times by Edmund Sanders - June 8, 2012 - 12:00am A presidential victory for the Muslim Brotherhood candidate in Egypt would leave Israel isolated and vulnerable in the Middle East, according to senior Hamas leader Ghazi Hamad, who serves as the Palestinian militant group's deputy foreign minister. » Read more

Monetary chief: PA bank borrowing reaches limit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency June 11, 2012 - 12:00am The head of the Palestine Monetary Authority said Sunday that the Palestinian Authority government has reached the maximum limit of borrowing from Palestinian banks. Jihad Al-Wazir said in a statement that banks in Palestine increased lending to the government by over $300 million in the last two months, and cannot lend more unless repayments from donor countries come through. The Authority has set supervisory measures to bolster the banking sector in the face of any political or economic shocks, al-Wazir added. » Read more

Israel's settlement policy could trigger a third intifada, experts warn Netanyahu ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amir Oren - June 10, 2012 - 12:00am Mideast experts warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week that construction policies in the settlements or the burning of a major mosque by extremists could help trigger a violent uprising in the West Bank. The meeting with Netanyahu, which lasted about 90 minutes, took place Tuesday evening. » Read more

Palestinian President Abbas 'would accept' UN upgrade ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC World News June 8, 2012 - 12:00am Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas says he is ready to accept "non-member state" status at the United Nations, if Israel does not resume peace talks. He made the comments as French President Francois Hollande lent his support to Palestinian aims for UN state recognition. Last September the Palestinian bid for full member status fell apart when the United States said it would veto it. Security Council backing is required for bids for full UN membership. » Read more

Bedouin are ‘squatters’ on their own land ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Hugh Naylor - June 11, 2012 - 12:00am Nuri Al Okbi’s home is an archive of his futile campaign to prove to Israel that he owns land he says has been in his family for centuries. Tucked away in boxes and stacked on bookshelves are maps and land deeds dating back to the Ottoman Empire. The collection, he says, is evidence of the Okbi clan’s ownership of land in the Al Araqib area of Israel’s Negev desert. » Read more

Navy announces new flag officer assignments ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Navy Times by Jacqueline Klimas - June 8, 2012 - 12:00am Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced Friday that the President Obama has made the following nominations: • Rear Adm. Paul Bushong, who has been nominated for promotion to vice admiral, will be U.S. security coordinator, Israel-Palestinian Authority. He is currently serving as commander, Navy Region Marianas/U.S. Pacific Command Representative, Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Palau/commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Marianas, Guam. » Read more

June 1967 was good for the Arabs ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Oudeh Basharat - (Opinion) June 11, 2012 - 12:00am Last week marked the 45th anniversary of the "Six-Day War" which has so far lasted for 16,448 days, and still counting. Apparently because the calendar is so crowded, the first Lebanon War did not find any other time to break out other than during the cursed month of June. A special offer - two wars in one month.

1967 has been bad for Palestinians and Israelis alike ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Hill by Hanan Ashrawi - (Opinion) June 8, 2012 - 12:00am Forty-five years ago this week, catastrophe befell the Palestinian people for the second time in as many decades, when Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip during the 1967 War. Nearly half a century later, the catastrophe continues, as millions of Palestinians still live under Israeli military rule, denied the most basic civil and political rights, while their land is relentlessly colonized with illegal, Jewish-only settlements that are destroying their hopes for the future. » Read more

The Nakba is a question of responsibility ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Hannan Hever - (Opinion) June 7, 2012 - 12:00am On May 23 in these pages, Professor Yehuda Bauer wrote an open letter to Palestinian director and actor Mohammad Bakri in response to Bakri's public assertion that Israel was only created because of the Holocaust. Bakri made his statement at an event marking Nakba ("catastrophe") Day –which Palestinians commemorate annually on the anniversary of Israel's establishment. » Read more

Help us save Israel ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Dor Glick - (Opinion) June 11, 2012 - 12:00am My consciousness was sawed off this week. Ever since the global boycott campaign against the settlements got underway, I objected to it and attempted to persuade my friends to avoid any foreign intervention in our situation. » Read more

Israelis, learn Arabic ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Yaron Friedman - (Opinion) June 10, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli students are obligated to take English and Hebrew exams, but not Arabic (which is an official language in Israel.) Arabic studies for Hebrew-speaking students are mandatory only until ninth grade, and one can choose to study French or another language instead. Indeed, most Israeli students do not take the Arabic matriculation exam. » Read more

The state of Gaza: Five years after Hamas took power in the city, how has life changed for its citizens? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Donald MacIntyre - (Opinion) June 10, 2012 - 12:00am The front office of Kamal Ashour's small family clothing factory in Gaza City opens on to Izzedine al-Qassam Street, named, like Hamas's military wing, in honour of the Islamist mujahid who led the anti-Zionist, anti-Mandate, Black Hand gang and was shot dead by British police in 1935. » Read more

A Palestinian return to a just Intifada ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National (Editorial) June 11, 2012 - 12:00am Stones have always served Palestinians better than rifles and bombs. The First Intifada beginning in 1987 was the first demonstration of mass resistance. Boycotts and strikes were employed, and clashes on the ground were marked by stone-throwing Palestinian youth. Al Aqsa Intifada, from 2000 to 2005, is on the other hand remembered for a spiral of suicide bombings and pitched battles with the Israeli military. » Read more

Sabra and Shatila: Israel’s war of lies ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News by Uri Avnery - (Opinion) June 10, 2012 - 12:00am Thirty years ago this week, the Israeli Army crossed into Lebanon and started the most stupid war in Israel’s history. It lasted for 18 years. About 1,500 Israeli soldiers and untold numbers of Lebanese and Palestinians were killed. Almost all wars are based on lies. Lies are considered legitimate instruments of war. Lebanon War I (as it was later called) was a shining example. From beginning to end (if it has ended yet) it was a war of deceit and deception, falsehoods and fabrications. » Read more

Strong and Stronger ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Hussein Ibish - (Opinion) June 8, 2012 - 12:00am At a recent informal meeting with Jewish Americans at the White House, President Barack Obama apparently expressed concerns about “domestic political constraints” holding back Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the peace process with Israel. This has led a number of observers, including Peter Beinart, to conclude that Abbas is politically "weak," or at least that Obama thinks so. » Read more

Imagining a Palestinian Economy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Amal Daraghmeh Masri - (Opinion) June 8, 2012 - 12:00am At the last meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee for Aid to Palestine, the Israeli delegation argued that the Palestinian economy was not ready to sustain an independent state. But this argument is frustrating. It is Israel’s very denial of independence that most impedes Palestinian economic prosperity.  As a board member of the Palestinian Business Women’s Forum, I was appalled by this conclusion. » Read more

Processing Delay ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Elliott Abrams - (Opinion) June 8, 2012 - 12:00am Summer 2012. Israel's elections have been delayed until late next year by the formation of a new coalition government. The "Arab Spring" is producing Muslim Brotherhood victories, Salafi gains, chaos in Syria, disorder in Egypt, tremors in Jordan. Iran's nuclear program moves steadily forward despite tougher sanctions and ongoing negotiations between Iran and the world's major powers. In the United States, » Read more

Outpost Nation: Why Bibi Won’t Break With Israel’s Settlers ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Dan Ephron - (Opinion) June 8, 2012 - 12:00am A battle over several homes in the West Bank has opened a rift between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a constituency he usually counts on for support: the hundreds of thousands of Jews who live in settlements across the Israeli-occupied area. » Read more

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